Great Western Exploration Limited (ASX:GTE) Sumo Niobium Target Confirmed As Large, Robust And Drill Ready

(MENAFN- ABN Newswire)

Great Western Exploration Limited (ASX:GTE) is pleased to announce heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) analysis results have been received, confirming the Company's large, robust, and coherent Sumo Niobium Target is drill ready.
- The Sumo Niobium Target is a large, robust and coherent 2km long by 1km wide lag niobium soil anomaly, located 70km south-east of Sandfire Resources' DeGrussa Copper-Gold Project and within Great Western's 100% owned Yerrida North Project.
- Sampling found niobium multi element anomalism was co-incident with As, Ag, Bi, Cr, Mo, Sb, Sn, Ta, Ti, Th, U W and Zr, with these pathfinder elements commonly associated with carbonatite niobium deposits.
- Subsequent Heavy Mineral Concentrate (HMC) spectral analysis has confirmed the Sumo Niobium Target is drill ready, with the niobium mineralisation found to share a close association with titanium. This association is a common surface expression for niobium deposits, often found with weathered niobium mineralisation systems (e.g. carbonatites systems) with secondary niobium mineralisation below surface.
- The HMC analysis also confirmed the initial interpretation that the Sumo Target's niobium anomalism is not related to iron or manganese scavenging.
- Sumo's prospectivity is highlighted by the coincident lag-soil pathfinder geochemistry, located on magnetic and gravity highs, which further supports its potential, and field reconnaissance has verified Sumo is "insitu".
- Great Western has now furthered preparations for drilling Sumo, with a heritage survey now scheduled for next month.
The Sumo Niobium Target is within the Company's 100% Yerrida North Project, located on the western portion of the Yerrida Basin, approximately 800km north-east of Perth and 90km north-west of the town of Wiluna (see Figure 1*), 70km south-east of Sandfire Resources' DeGrussa Copper-Gold Project.
The Sumo Niobium Target was defined by lag soil sampling, with a large, coherent >20ppm niobium anomaly measuring 2km x 1km wide delineated (Figure 2*, GTE ASX Announcement 12 September 2024). The niobium anomalism is co-incident with As, Ag, Bi, Cr, Mo, Sb, Sn, Ta, Ti, Th, U W and Zr, with these pathfinder elements commonly associated with carbonatite niobium deposits (Figure 3*, GTE ASX Announcement 12 September 2024).
Heavy mineral concentrate sampling (HMC) was completed (Figure 4*), to better understand the mineralogy related to niobium mineralisation, and to further develop a genetic mineralisation model for future exploration programmes.
Thirty-four samples were collected and scanned, with spectral analysis and interpretation completed. The results reported included grain, mineral and elemental counts, and mineralogy and pixel chemistry.
The HMC analysis confirmed the Sumo Niobium Target is drill ready, with the results finding niobium mineralisation was closely related to titanium, interpreted to be most likely contained with the mineral Ilmenite. This association is often found with weathered niobium mineralisation systems (for example carbonatite systems, Mitchell 2015), with secondary niobium mineralisation potentially located below surface. In addition, the HMC results supported the initial interpretation that the niobium soil anomaly is not related to iron and manganese scavenging (GTE ASX Announcement 12 September 2012). Mineral counts found the dominant mineralogy to be iron-oxides and aluminiumiron silicates, indicative of a weathered regolith.
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